“It does nothing to address the concerns voiced by our community at the public meetings.

“If ‘Home First’ already exists then it is clearly failing. It would also seem to heavily rely upon the voluntary sector meaning people will be paying twice for this service, once through their taxes and secondly through donations to charities.

“Is the CCG hoping that the private healthcare companies, already overstretched and prohibitively expensive for many, will step in to fill the void?

“The claim that it is an increase in the number of beds within the hospital is clearly a manipulation of facts, as the permanent number of beds stood at 54 on these wards.

“Our trust in the CCG has fallen to a new low as they have avoided all attempts to honour their agreement given publicly to attend a meeting organised by Fighting 4 Louth Hospital whereby the public had their say and the CCG listen.

“The fact they have sat on their statement until the very last minute before the press deadline has not gone unnoticed and is, we believe, deliberate.”